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UK's Boris Johnson faces mounting challenges to his plans

Published Fri Aug 30 2019 17:02:50 GMT+0000 (UTC)

by By GREGORY KATZ

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament for part of the run-up to the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline faces mounting legal and political challenges ahead of a weekend of planned street protests.

There are three ongoing court tests to Johnson's plan, which he says is routine but which will shorten the time in which opponents in Parliament could seek to pass legislation blocking a disorderly "no deal" departure from the European Union.

A Scottish judge Friday declined to issue an immediate injunction to block the suspension of Parliament but set up a full hearing Tuesday on the legal bid launched by cross-party legislators determined to keep Parliament in session.

A separate case in London has also received the heavyweight backing of former Prime Minister John Major — a fellow Conservative from Johnson's party — and from Tom Watson, the deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party.

Major hopes to formally join the case started by activist Gina Miller so he can argue that Johnson has exceeded his authority by asking Queen Elizabeth II to shutter Parliament for several weeks during the crucial period before the Brexit deadline.

"If granted permission to intervene, I intend to seek to assist the court from the perspective of having served in government as a minister and prime minister, and also in Parliament for many years as a member of the House of Commons," he said.

A case is being heard in Northern Ireland, as well.

The various courts are being asked to intervene in what is seen by Johnson's opponents as a power grab that undercuts the sovereignty of Parliament.

It is too early to gauge the possible impact of street protests planned for Saturday in London and other major British cities. Activists hope a massive turnout could influence vacillating members of Parliament when it reconvenes on Tuesday after a summer recess.

Organizers say more than 30 protests have been planned in cities throughout the United Kingdom.

Opponents of a possible "no deal" Brexit will have to hustle to craft a bill in the constrained time period. Success may depend on whether a significant number of legislators from Johnson's Conservative Party are willing to join forces with Labour and other parties to frustrate the prime minister's oft-stated goal of taking Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 regardless of whether a deal is in place.

Shami Chakrabarti, a senior adviser to the Labour Party on justice issues, told BBC radio that she is hopeful there is enough opposition in Parliament to block Johnson from carrying out a "no deal" departure.

"If they try any more of this stuff we will use any means necessary to prevent this undemocratic behavior — that includes people taking to the streets, that includes people taking to the airwaves, that includes people going to court."

In Scotland, Judge Raymond Doherty turned down a bid for an immediate intervention but said a "substantive" hearing Tuesday would allow the case to be heard in a timely fashion. He did agree to move the full hearing from Sept. 6 to Tuesday to speed up the process.

"It's in the interest of justice that it proceeds sooner rather than later," he said.

The case was brought by a cross-party group of roughly 70 legislators seeking to broaden the period for parliamentary debate in a bid to prevent a disorderly departure by Britain from the European Union.

The legislators backing the legal bid want Johnson to submit a sworn affidavit explaining his reasons for suspending Parliament. It is not clear if such a statement will be required.

The defiant prime minister warned Friday that opposition to his plans is weakening Britain's negotiating position by giving EU leaders the impression that Parliament may step in to block Brexit.

"I'm afraid that the more our friends and partners think, at the back of their mind, that Brexit could be stopped, that the U.K. could be kept in by Parliament, the less likely they are to give us the deal that we need," Johnson told Sky News. He claimed there is still time to make a deal with the EU.

Anti Brexit protestors wave flags outside the cabinet office in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. A legal bid in a Scottish court to immediately halt the British government’s plan to suspend Parliament has failed Friday, but a full court hearing is now scheduled for next week. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove leaves Downing Street in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. The first legal challenge to prevent British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending Parliament has failed in a Scottish court. The Court of Session in Edinburgh refused Friday to take legal action to prevent Johnson from suspending Parliament for several weeks during part of the period ahead of the Brexit deadline on Oct. 31.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)An anti Brexit protestor stands in front of the Cabinet office in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. A legal bid in a Scottish court to immediately halt the British government's plan to suspend Parliament has failed Friday, but a full court hearing is now scheduled for next week.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)An anti Brexit demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson protests outside the Cabinet office in London, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Political opposition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's move to suspend Parliament is crystalizing, with protests around Britain and a petition to block the move gaining more than 1 million signatures. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)Anti-Brexit demonstrators wave banners and flags outside the Cabinet Office in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. A legal challenge aimed at stopping Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament has been denied an interim interdict at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Friday. A cross-party group of MPs and peers filed a petition at Scotland's highest civil court earlier this summer aiming to stop the Prime Minister being able to prorogue Parliament. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)School children approach Downing Street chief mouser Larry the cat, as they leave after a scheduled meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)An anti Brexit protestor holds a poster outside the cabinet office in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. A legal bid in a Scottish court to immediately halt the British government’s plan to suspend Parliament has failed Friday, but a full court hearing is now scheduled for next week. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)Builder contractors enter 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. The first legal challenge to prevent British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending Parliament has failed in a Scottish court. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)School children arrive for a scheduled meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)Rights campaigner Raymond McCord outside Belfast High Court following an application for an injunction to prevent British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from suspending parliament, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Friday Aug. 30, 2019. Johnson's plan to suspend Parliament ahead of the Brexit split with Europe deadline of Oct. 31 is facing various court challenges to test its legal status. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)An anti Brexit protestor stands in front of the Cabinet office in London, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. A legal bid in a Scottish court to immediately halt the British government's plan to suspend Parliament has failed Friday, but a full court hearing is now scheduled for next week.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab speaks to the media as he arrives to the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Helsinki, Finland, on Friday, Aug. 30, 2019. Some EU foreign ministers at the conference expressed concern that a potentially damaging and very costly U.K. exit from the bloc without an agreement appears more likely at the moment. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)